


kiss it better

by skorppan



Category: You Could Make a Life Series - Taylor Fitzpatrick
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternative Universe - No Hockey, Curse Breaking, Curses, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:15:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28452975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skorppan/pseuds/skorppan
Summary: Joey gets cursed. Scratch helps.
Relationships: Nick "Scratch" Angelopoulos/Joey Munroe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	kiss it better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laulerelelere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laulerelelere/gifts).



> for lau, who prompted magic au. happy holidays! i hope you'll like this!
> 
> this is a non-hockey AU, because when i momentarily entertained the thought of them being hockey players in this i immediately started overthinking how magic would affect hockey, and i needed to like, finish this at some point, so.

In retrospect, Joey thinks, it all probably started on Thursday evening. That was when Joey had left his shift at the store and noticed his car keys had gone missing. Which seemed typical at the moment- the one day when he didn’t carpool to work with Scratch, that would happen.

Then: Joey finally got home via the public transport system and a healthy amount of walking, only to find that he had left an almost full carton of milk on the table, even though he could have sworn he had put it away. As Joey went to pour the now spoiled milk down the drain, gagging at the smell, he managed to snub his toe on the table leg.

Later he stubbed his poor, poor toes not once, but twice more.

As he went to bed, Joey had briefly wondered if someone had cursed him.

*

The next day it’s all too easy to blame the last night on simple, good old-fashioned bad luck. One terrible evening doesn’t mean there’s a curse hanging over his head, Joey tells himself firmly, as if starting to believe in a curse would mean that it’s real.

But it’s not. Because Joey is not even thinking about it.

Hah, take that, not-curse.

Except then Scratch walks into Joey’s apartment, as he so often does, rounds the corner into the kitchen were Joey is, and stops. He looks at Joey for a moment, and then makes a face like he smelled something bad.

“ _Oh_ , man,” Scratch says at the same time as Joey says, his shoulders slumping: “I have been cursed, haven’t I?”

“Yeah,” Scratch says. His face is still all scrunched up, but he pats Joey consolingly on the shoulder when Joey slumps down further.

“Do we know what the curse is?” Scratch asks.

“I think it’s basically just-“ Joey starts to say, then, “shit, my toast,” and jumps up to his now smoking toaster to save the kitchen from burning down. The toast is far beyond saving.

Joey doesn’t think he can slump down any further without becoming some kind of a puddle. A sad, defeated puddle of Joey.

“It’s basically just small but annoying stuff, I think? Like everything is going wrong,” he answers the earlier question. “Do you think you could do something about it?”

Scratch hums a little, considering it.

“I guess trying can’t hurt?”

*

Scratch has told Joey many times over the years of their friendship that he’s barely more magical than the average person.

“My mom can actually do stuff with her magic,” he had told Joey. “Most of her magic just skipped over me.”

Mostly Joey thinks that Scratch is selling himself short. Because he can do stuff. Like occasionally warm up Joey’s drinks that have gone cold, or locate missing keys and phones, and sometimes even make a hangover more bearable.

Sure, he doesn’t do it much, and it’s not exactly the kind of showy stuff some people are capable of, but every now and then it makes Joey’s life a bit easier.

Point is, Scratch is definitely a lot more magical than Joey, or pretty much anyone else Joey knows.

*

Scratch poking at the curse is the strangest thing Joey has ever felt. He’s not sure if it’s good-bad, or just bad-bad. The feeling defies that kind of classification.

“I know,” Scratch says apologetically.

“It’s like- like pressure, but against nothing, and also every inch of my skin is itching?” To be fair, Joey thinks, the itching might be the curse’s doing.

“ _I know_ ,” Scratch says again, and drops his hand from Joey’s forehead. With that, the strange feeling is gone too.

They have moved to Scratch’s apartment, where Scratch has arranged everything that he thinks might help with the curse breaking in his living room. There are multiple candles lit, and their different smells are making Joey a little dizzy. Also, he’s vaguely worried that he’ll knock one or more of the candles over.

“I think, right now, I’m a fire hazard,” he tells Scratch, who agrees and moves the candles a little further away from Joey.

Joey tries not to fidget too much. All he has to do is try to sit very still and not invite any more bad luck his way. For Scratch’s part, he’s got a look of intense concentration on his face, muttering something under his breath that Joey doesn’t catch, and reaches out with his hand again.

Joey braces himself for that strange, strange feeling.

*

So, here’s the thing; Joey has known for a while now that he likes Scratch. As in, the thought of being more than just friends with Scratch has entered Joey’s mind. Has practically made home in Joey’s mind, like an unwelcome guest that refuses to leave.

Joey blames it completely on Willy, who had gotten Joey drunk, and then talking about Scratch, and then how awesome Scratch is, and then Willy had asked, all innocent, if Joey had ever considered the fact that he might be into Scratch. Which Joey had denied, of course. Expect, then he had remembered that question next day, sober, and that had let to considering it and- well. Some unfortunate realizations.

Someone might call it a wish. Joey tries very hard not to call it a wish.

Because here’s the other thing: Scratch is straight, and so Joey’s pathetic crush sits as a small, shameful knot in Joey’s stomach.

*

“Money, I’m sorry but I don’t think I can break it,“ Scratch says finally, when the day is already turning into an evening. The candles have mostly burned out. Scratch has gone through every little cantrip he could think to try, softly chanting words that Joey couldn’t understand. He had even made some paste that smelled clean and faintly like heather, and smeared it on Joey’s wrists. And then finally Joey had read aloud some spell that Scratch had written out for him, absolutely botching it by the pinched look on Scratch’s face.

Still, the curse persisted.

“Are you sure? Absolutely sure?” Joey can’t help but ask. He wants to plead Scratch to try just a little bit longer, but Scratch is looking kind of pale and tired, and Joey remembers how too much magic gives him a headache. They have taken some breaks during the day, but it must have still been a lot. So he accepts Scratch’s shake of head.

He feels bad for making Scratch look that defeated.

“Hey, how about we order something in, and just, I don’t know, forget about this curse for the rest of the evening?” Joey suggests. “You can pick the food.”

Of course, once their food gets there, Joey’s order is wrong.

“We should probably be concerned about you accidentally killing yourself if we mix alcohol with this curse,” Scratch says when Joey grabs them beers.

“I know,” Joey says, “but I’m literally too pissed off at the curse to care. Maybe if I’m drunk it will be funnier at least?”

And Scratch, being the best, takes the beers from his hands and pops them open.

*

After that there are a couple more beers, and then, when even Scratch thinks that it is a good idea, some disgusting whiskey he digs up from somewhere. And hey, then it actually is kind of funny when Joey goes to get them glasses of water and instead manages to break both glasses.

Joey is ordered to stand still while Scratch cleans up the broken glass. It’s with his head bent down low, picking up the larger shards, that Scratch tells him: “I really am sorry I wasn’t able to break the curse. I told you I don’t really have that kind of power, but, yeah. I’m sorry, Money.”

Joey thinks it’s absurd for Scratch to be apologizing over this.

“Hey, no, _no_ , you did a lot for me today,” he tells Scratch while denying the order to stay still and sitting down on the kitchen floor.

Scratch dumps the rest of the glass in the garbage and then sits down next to Joey, shoulder to shoulder.

“Yeah, but none of it helped,” he says.

Scratch’s shoulder feels very warm against Joey. Also, Joey can’t stop staring at his face in profile. Also, Joey is very drunk.

“I still think-“ Joey says, losing his thought for a moment when Scratch turns his head to look at him. He tries again, “I still think you’re magical. The magical-est. Most magical.”

Scratch makes a doubtful sound, and Joey is forced to add, “well, you’re the only person with any magic I know. But it still counts!”

Joey thinks that Scratch is looking at him kind of intently. It’s one of those rare moments when you look someone straight into the eyes for a while and it doesn’t feel weird at all. Joey’s vaguely aware that it would be a very bad idea to kiss Scratch.

In his defense, he’s almost certain that Scratch leans in first.

Then they’re kissing, and Scratch’s hand is on Joey’s face, and it doesn’t feel strange at all, just wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

That is to say, it’s great, until it stops, and then Scratch’s face looks all guarded, which feels like a bucket of ice water down Joey’s shirt. So, when Scratch mumbles that he’s going to the bathroom and gets up, Joey quietly sneaks back to his own apartment.

He’s mildly impressed that he didn’t forget to bring his keys with him and gets in without a problem.

*

When Joey wakes up feeling like shit the next morning, he wonders if he could just lie there, not moving at all, or if the curse would bring its tiny disasters to him anyway.

Briefly, he wonders if he could blame kissing Scratch on the curse.

 _Fuck_ , he kissed Scratch.

Still contemplating his misery, Joey gets up and goes to shower, then, feeling a bit more like a human again, makes himself breakfast and tries not to notice Scratch’s absence as he sits down to eat alone. It’s easier said than done, the guilt over the previous night eating him up inside.

It’s while rinsing the dishes that Joey realizes that nothing has gone wrong. The water in the shower didn’t turn cold midway his shower and he didn’t burn his eggs, not even a little. He hasn’t so much as stubbed his toes once.

Before he can think about it too much, Joey runs to Scratch’s apartment, knocking on the door.

Scratch looks pretty much as shitty as Joey has felt all morning, and Joey knows that he’ll need to apologize for the kiss before Scratch slams the door on his face, but first-

“Scratch, the curse is gone, I think? Please tell me the curse is gone?”

Scratch opens his mouth, then seems to register what Joey has said, and looks at Joey more closely. Visibly surprised, he asks, “what did you do to get rid of it?”

“Nothing! It must have disappeared last night, because I remember thinking it was weird that I had actually remembered my keys, so-“ Joey’s mind whirls through the previous night, the last accident he had with the glasses, and then getting home, and he can see on Scratch’s face when the same thought occurs to him, at the exact same time it does for Joey.

“You don’t think it was, uh,” Joey says, not knowing how to finish the question without bringing up the kiss.

“I mean,” Scratch says, not quite looking at Joey, “it would be ridiculous if it was the kiss, right?”

Joey wishes that they weren’t having this conversation at Scratch’s doorway, and that he could hide somewhere.

“Well, I did say that you’re magical?” Joey tries, desperately, to keep his tone light. Scratch gets that guarded look again, so Joey’s probably not doing well.

“Listen-“ Scratch says, but stops. He takes a step back into his apartment and Joey, relieved, follows him, closing the door behind.

“Listen,” Scratch starts again. “I just need to know if-. If that kiss was just because we had been drinking. And then I think I’ll need to apologize for it.”

“I think I should be the one apologizing?” Joey says. And then, because the situation cannot possibly get any worse, he continues, “I mean, yeah, the alcohol helped a lot, but I- sort of- well, I have wanted to kiss you anyway?”

Scratch is looking at him, now. “Was that… a question?”

“…No? No, yes, I have wanted to do it. Not a question,” Joey says. Maybe he could hide behind Scratch’s jackets hanging by the door. They are nicely close. And big enough, no one would ever find Joey.

Expect then Scratch is stepping up close to him, and taking Joey’s face between his hands, and kissing Joey again.

It’s much nicer than it was when they were drunk. Joey would very much like to get used to it.

“So I guess no one needs to apologize,” Joey says when they lean back from each other. Scratch shakes his head.

“I can’t believe the fucking kiss broke the curse,” Scratch says, and Joey laughs, and then they kiss again, and again, and again.

**Author's Note:**

> in my head it was the rest of the scouts trying to play match-makers that got joey cursed, but i didn't really find a good and natural way to include that in the fic.
> 
> thank you for reading!
> 
> i’m on twitter, @skorppan


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